Practisen

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An archaic verb meaning to carry out an activity or skill regularly to gain proficiency ; to plot or contrive a scheme against another person
2. An old verb for repeatedly performing a craft or art in order to improve ; a term for secretly devising a plan to harm or deceive someone
3. A obsolete form meaning to exercise a trade or accomplishment through repetition ; an older sense of conspiring or intriguing against another

Etymology: "Practisen" is a Middle English spelling of "practise," with the old infinitive ending "-en." In that period the verb meant to follow a trade or profession, such as working as a physician or a lawyer. Its ancestry runs back to the ancient Greek "prassein," meaning simply to do or to act. The adjective "praktikos" described things concerned with action rather than with thought. That same Greek stem gave English "practical" and "pragmatic," so these are close relatives despite their different flavours. The verb reached English through Old French "practiser," which came from Medieval Latin "practicare," meaning to carry out or perform. The sense of an occupation followed from the idea of doing a thing regularly and as a livelihood.